The colonel pressed his gun into her left shoulder. “Enough with the talk. You got two seconds left to tell me where my goldis.”
Audra mouthed the words, “I love you.” And grabbed the bottom of Diggs’ pantsleg.
* * *
Diggs triedto shift away from Audra, panic and terror ripping up his insides, but he was too weak to even move his mouth. He had to do something. He couldn’t just lie here and let her sacrifice herself. He’d never prayed a day before in his entire life, but right now he desperately pleaded with a higher power to give him the strength to move. All he had to do was shove her out of the way, grab his knife, and sink it into the colonel’sthroat.
“Four.”
Audra’s fingers closed around the hilt of the knife. He couldn’t see her, but he could feel her. He could smell her anger and her determination. She was ready to die forhim.
No! Don’t doit!
But he couldn’t yell, as dizziness blurred his periphery, and he blinked rapidly to stay awake. His head fell to the side, his neck not strong enough to keep it upright anymore. It was then he saw Trigger crouched just a few feet away, a silent snarl curling his lips back, the hair down his spine standing on end. For the first time since Diggs had seen the dog, he felt a surge of hope. The dog had been overseas with Jeremy; he’d watched his handlerdie.
And if the colonel had been there—Trigger had seen thebetrayal.
Diggs knew he didn’t have any special powers, and he couldn’t actually communicate with the dog, but he used all his remaining energy to silently plead for Trigger toattack.
Trigger’s eyes bounced to Diggs for a split second, and then he zeroed in on the colonel and crouched. Audra pulled the knife free from the sheath at his ankle. Diggs shook his head no and Audra mouthed the words, “I’msorry.”
“Time’s up, Princess—” the colonel shifted the gun to herleg.
Trigger sprang, the most ferocious snarl Diggs had ever heard bursting from his mouth as he went for the colonel’s throat. Audra cried out and dove sideways. The colonel flinched back, but it was too late. Trigger’s mouth closed over his arm and bit. The sound of bones snapping popped and the colonels gun clattered uselessly to the floor. He screamed and punched Trigger in the side. Trigger let go, dropped to the ground andgrowled.
The colonel cradled his mangled arm, watching the dog with wariness. “You.”
Trigger crouched and sprang. His wrath didn’t needwords.
The colonel threw up his good arm and tried to block Trigger, but it was a useless action. Trigger’s mouth closed around the man’s throat, cutting off his scream into a garbled moan. Trigger threw him to the ground, his bite unrelenting. Audra’s body blocked his line of sight, but Diggs didn’t need to see to know that Trigger had exacted his revenge on thecommander.
All of his energy gone, Diggs let his eyes slide shut, focusing on the sweet sound of Audra’s very healthy and very rapid breathing next tohim.
He was close to slipping into the sweetness of unconsciousness, when a bullet pinged into the concrete just feet from his head. His eyes flew open and somehow, he flung out his arm and knocked Audra to the ground, rolling on top of her, sheer agony blinding him. He let his head hang down past her shoulder and rest on the floor. A bullet blasted from near the crates at their side, pinging into the metal roofoverhead.
“What’s going on?” Audrabreathed.
He wanted to tell her, he wanted to warn her about Dawson, but he couldn’t. The blackness was close again, and this time he knew he wouldn’t be strong enough to fight it off. At least, at least maybe he could buy some time for the rest of his team to get here. Even if he had failed to be her hero in the end, he could die with her sweet scent feeding his nostrils. Her silky hair caressed his cheek, and her soft body cushionedhis.
He thought back to that heavenly moment, seconds ago, when she’d mouthed the words he’d been waiting to hear. Yes, he was a failure, and he didn’t deserve it, but she lovedhim.
And that had to beenough.
